Second Call for the Arqus Joint Master’s Programme in European Studies

The Joint Master’s Programme opens a second Call for application from 12^th to 30^th May, 2023. The applications for this Call are only possible to University of Granada and Vilnius University as entrance universities.

This full-time Master’s Programme has 120 ECTS structured in 11 modules plus the Master’s Thesis. It has been designed to be completed in 2 years with a minimum study period of four semesters. The Joint Programme brings together the expertise and academic excellence of four Arqus universities (Universities of Granada, Graz, Leipzig and Vilnius) and is offered entirely in English.

The Programme is totally flexible and adaptable to the needs of potential students, combining different teaching methodologies (face-to-face, hybrid and online) and integrating jointly conceptualized and taught virtual courses with local seminars led by lecturers at the participant universities. It also incorporates interdisciplinary approaches with multiple perspectives and different points of view and counts on multinational and interdisciplinary teaching teams in all modules.

The Joint Master´s Programme in European Studies provides a multidisciplinary understanding of Europe’s role in the world, drawing on a range of approaches in the social sciences and the humanities. The Programme focuses on the relationship between Europeanization and globalization, the impact of global developments on Europe and the changing role of the continent in the new world order.

The Master, recently accredited by the German Agency ZEvA, brings together institutes and centres of long-standing expertise in the field within the University of Granada, University of Graz, Leipzig University and Vilnius University, which allows students to profit from a wide range of options in complementary focus areas and from a unique intercultural experience.

The curriculum is composed of a central program of common modules offered jointly by the partner institutions, combined with specialised contents from each university according to their particular subject-related strength. Thus, students may design their own itinerary according to their specific fields of interests:

• The University of Granada will provide specialisations in geographical perspectives; socio-economic processes and critical views of Europe; public and private approaches to climate change; conflicts, actors and scenarios of change beyond Europe; and the European approach to migration.
• The focus areas offered by the University of Graz are south-eastern Europe; socio-economic development and social change; peace, migration, and climate change; and human right and diversity management.
• The regional areas of specialization of Leipzig University are the relations between east and west; transnational perspectives; global conflict management; cultural representation in current European societies; and Europeanisation and globalisation.
• Finally, the specialisations and regional focus of Vilnius University are the northem and eastern perspective; transnational perspectives; eastern Europe and the global challenges; and practical skills and knowledge on eastern Europe.

The Joint Master´s Programme in European Studies constitutes a unique academic offer in Europe. Students from many different countries will meet and experience directly the commonalities and differences of academic and political cultures across Europe and the World. This research-based analysis will enable students to make independent contributions to the design of future-oriented political, economic, social, and cultural projects run by Europeans. Students will be trained in systematic multiperspectivity by allowing them to participate via physical and virtual mobility in courses at four different universities, which share a common understanding of Europe as a global actor but differ in their positionality within Europe and towards societies outside of Europe.

The mobility, which is a central feature of the programme, allows students to study at two or even three different study places and makes the study experience truly transnational. Students will spend a minimum of 30 ECTS at one of the partner universities other than the entrance university. However, according to their own preference and availability, students might choose to remain onsite at their entrance university only and generate the minimum of 30 ECTS at another degree-awarding partner online.

Participants can apply for an exchange term at one of the Arqus Universities  (outside the Joint Master’s Programme consortium) and at universities outside of the Arqus Alliance. Additionally, the Master includes the possibility of completing an internship outside the universities or a research internship in one of the participating universities in order to promote the students’ later work opportunities.

Students graduating from the Joint Master’s Programme will be awarded the Joint Degree of Master of Arts in the field of European Studies recognised by all partner universities.

The Joint Programme also offers the following special features:

• Different disciplinary and regional perspectives on selected topics.
• Joint teaching programme: Virtual lectures are taught jointly, as well as the organisation of a summer school and the virtual MA Thesis Colloquium.
• Joint supervision of the Master’s thesis.
• Physical and virtual mobility options.